TRAVEL INSIDER

Learning programs enrich vacations

March 18, 2007|By Alfred Borcover, Special to the Tribune

Enough, already, of indulgent vacations -- lolling around on a cruise ship, reading a book, gambling and short bursts of touring and shopping ashore. Enough of hit-and-run driving trips, visiting a city here, a museum there and a national park somewhere else, and then trying to recall or reconstruct what you saw.

Baby Boomers, and their families, today are looking for more from their vacations. Many travelers have decided it's time to restimulate the brain and learn something a bit more in depth while traveling.

In a survey taken last year by the Washington-based Travel Industry Association, 56 percent of travelers said they were interested in taking an educational trip where they and/or their family can learn something.

An educational tour might include lectures by experts -- not just guides -- about the Amish culture in eastern Pennsylvania, geothermal power in Iceland, wine blending in California's Napa Valley, global warming in the Arctic or insights into recently discovered workers' tombs near Egypt's pyramids.

The interest in educational travel, or enrichment travel as some call it, is apparent in the number of people booking these kind of tours. Companies such as Collette Vacations in Pawtucket, R.I., which works with Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures; Abercrombie & Kent in Chicago suburban Oak Brook, which sometimes partners with the National Geographic Society, and Lindblad Expeditions in New York attract more clients looking for additional benefits from their travels.

Universities and museums have been in the vanguard of educational tours for decades, offering in-depth tours to their alumni and members. The venerable Elderhostel organization has attracted senior learners for years.

On the commercial side, 89-year-old Collette Vacations' ( www.collettevacations.com; 800-340-5158) annual bookings for educational trips have increased by 40 to 60 percent a year for four consecutive years, according to Melissa Snape, the company's vice president of product.

Snape also noted that educational tour participants are getting younger, not older. The educational component, she said, appeals to a younger demographic because the Boomers have more of an inherent lifelong learning attitude. "As we develop more programs that are educationally based and more culturally rich, the demographic will keep going down. The programs give them access to people they couldn't get on their own."

On a Napa Valley tour, she said, participants not only learned about grapes, they got to pick them, learn about wine blending and blended their own wine.

While many people have an aversion to them, group tours can provide opportunities that you can't get on your own. Collette limits its tours to 26 to 38 people, but splits the group when necessary to provide a more personal experience.

A few examples of Collette's tours, which do not include airfare:

-Heritage of America, popular with families, includes a local expert to discuss Pennsylvania Amish culture and act as a liaison to a traditional dinner with an Amish family; and at Gettysburg, a local historian provides an overview of the Civil War battlefield. The nine-day tour costs from $1,349 to $1,499 a person.

-Wonders of Iceland, managed by Collette for Smithsonian Journeys, provides Smithsonian-supplied experts on hydro and thermal power, a geologist and an Icelandic historian on its eight-day program. The cost: from $1,249 to $2,149 a person.

Abercrombie & Kent (abercrombiekent.com; 888-785-5379), known for its approach to luxury travel since 1962, also has a strong educational reputation, having ties with the Nature Conservancy, the National Geographic Society and the Audubon Society.

"The educational component of our business is absolutely growing," said Sanja Popovic, who manages A&K's special-interest groups.

The educational tour component of its offerings is growing, and the age of participants also is dropping, A&K said. There are more Boomers taking the tours, and often a family group includes three generations -- grandparents, parents and children.

Among A&K's programs with the Nature Conservancy, with the theme of "Journeys to the World's Last Great Places":

-Papua New Guinea, a 13-day trip that includes visits to remote villages and such places as Mt. Hagen, Ambua, Kimbe Bay, Talasea and Mt. Gabuna. The cost is $5,192 a person, double, excluding international airfare.

-Mainland Ecuador & the Galapagos, an 11-day trip traveling on a 110-foot yacht to the islands of Santa Cruz, Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago and Bartolome. The cost: $9,350 a person, double, excluding international flights.

A&K also works with such universities as Stanford, Harvard, Cornell, Smith and Purdue on educational programs.

Another leader in educational trips, Lindblad Expeditions ( www.lindbladexpeditions.com; 800-397-3348), grew out of Lindblad Travel, a pioneer of eco-tourism, and has been around since 1979.